(Washington D.C.) Iowa 3rd District U.S. House Representative Cindy Axne voted on bi-partisan legislation that will preserve marriage equality for same-sex interracial couples for federal law. Additionally, repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, and provide additional legal protections for marriage equality.
Axne voted for the Respect Marriage Act, which prohibits States from denying recognition to an out-of-state marriage based on sex, race, ethnicity, or origin of the individual in the union. She says the bill also specifies that Federal Law will recognize marriages as long as they are valid in the State the marriage occurred in.
In 2015, the Supreme Court’s United States versus Windsor and Obergefell landmark decision effectively rendered the Defense of Marriage Act. This 1996 law previously defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman, enforceable and struck down the state bans on same-sex marriage, holding that marriage equality was a constitutional right.
